Foot-pressure reflector



A. SMITH, JR. FOOT PRESSURE REFLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.6, m9.

Patented Mar. 23,1920.

[NI/EN TOR m m w W Arm/mm ALEXANDER SMITH, JR., 01" NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOOT-PRESSURE REFLECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

Application filed December 6, 1919. Serial No. 341074.

To all whom it may concern:

In the accompanying drawings, similar Be it known that I, ALEXANDER SMITH, characters of reference designate corre- J 1:, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the. city of New York, borough of Manhattan, and. county and State of New York, have invented a. new and Improved Foot-Pressure Reflector, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates generally to surgical appliances, and more particularly to a device adapted for use by podiatrists, chiropodists and orthopedic doctors in examining foot ailments such as Morton toe, weak and flat feet, etc., and toenable them to make av proper diagnosis.

Heretofore in diagnosing foot ailments, the doctor has been unable to determine exactly what portions of the sole of the foot presses upon a supporting surface so that it 7 has made it diflicult for the doctor to prescribe the proper means for correcting a certain ailment.

One of the objects .of this invention is to provide an appliance, and i an improved method of examining the sole of a foot whereby the diiiiculties above noted are overcome, and a device provided which will permit a re flected image of the sole of the footunder pressure to be observed. In .carrying out the method, use is made of the principle that pressure applied to a part of the body produces a temporary anemia of that part which presents a white area at the parts under pressure, the other parts not directly under pressure, presenting a reddish appearance.

A further'object of this invention is to provide an; improved method of diagnosing foot ailments which will enable the proper prescription to be made for building up a proper brace or support.

In the-broad aspect, the above objects are accomplished by providing a transparent support such as glass, on which the foot may be pressed, and by arranging a reflecting surface therebelow so that the entire sole of the foot may be seen, and the parts under pressure, and those spaced from the glass may be observed by noting the white and reddish appearances of the sole as a reflected image.

Other objects and advantages will apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing forming a part of the'specificatiomand showing for exam.- ple one 'tion.

practical embodiment of the invenfoot from the reflector 11.

spending parts in the several views. 3

Figure 1 is a. sectional view showing a device embodying the invention, representing a. foot pressed upon the transparent medium,

. and showing the manner in which the con-- dition of the foot may be observed, by different persons.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view looking in the direction of the arrows and taken generally on the line 22 of'Fig. 1 indicating the manner in which the reflected image appears. r i L Fig. 3 is a view looking in the directionof the arrows and taken on the line 33 representing the reflected image of the sole of the foot and indicating certain portions of the sole under pressure.

\Vith reference more particularly to the accompanying drawings showing for example one, practical embodiment, a transparent medium 1 which is made of plate glass or other suitable material, is carried in a support 2 or box like structure open at the top, and may be of any suitable construction. As shown, the transparent medium 1 is held in a recess 3 formed at the support or rest for a foot 5, the sole 6 of which may be pressed upon one side 7 thereof. A suitable reflector 8 is shown angularly arranged and spaced from the other side 9 of the transparent member 1, so that a person as for instance a, doctor looking for a point 10 in the reflector 8, may see or observe a reflected image of the sole 6 of the foot,=which would. appear for instance as illustrated in Fig. 3. If desired,

another reflector 11 may be angularly ar ranged below the transparent medium 1, so that another person as for instance the patient looking from the point 12 may also observe a reflected image of the sole of the In the form shown, bracing members 13 and 14: are pro: vided for the reflectors 8 and llresp'ectively,

. t it is understood that any suitable {in v rangement of the reflector may be provided.

If desired, a source of illumination preferably an electric bulb may be provided,

together with a reflector or shade 16 thereof the foot'upon the transparent medium 1,

Which will cause certain portions of the sole as for instance the heel 17, the ball 18, and

. reddish in color.

' the support is properly placed, and is raised a certain portion of the toes 19 to be flattened, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, which flattened portion will be caused by a pressure upon the sole, causing anemia, and will show up as a white area. Those other portions of' the foot which are not pressed against the-member 1 will usually appear Such a condition becomes visible to the practitioner, and enables him to better diagnose the foot ailments, and will better enable him to determine what portions of the foot are to be braced and supported. Thus, it will permit him to build up little by little underneath the sole, and

can then observe the proper mount to be added. In this way, the doctor can be sure inmaking a pres'cription for a support, that to the proper degree, whereas, heretofore this has not been possible.

It is to be understood that while a certain thereof, and a reflecting surface spaced from surface being spaced from and arranged be-.

low the said transparent medium, so that a reflected image of the sole of a foot pressed upon one side of the transparent medium \may be observed.

3. A foot pressure reflector comprising a support, a plate of glass supported thereby and adapted to function as a support for a foot, a reflector angularly arranged below the plate of glass and spaced therefrom, whereby a reflected image of the sole of the foot may be visible-from above.

1. A device of the character described comprising in combination a support, a transparent medium held by said support and adapted to function as a rest for the sole of a foot pressed on one side thereof, and a plurality of reflectors spaced from and angularly arranged below said transparent medium, whereby a reflected image of the sole of the foot maybe observed from different positions.

5. A device of the character described comprising in combination a support, a transparent medium held by said support and adapted to function as arest for the sole of a foot pressed on one side thereof, a'plurality of reflectors spaced from and angularly arranged below said transparent medium, whereby. a reflected image of the sole of the foot may be observed from different positions, and a source of light arranged between the transparent medium and the reflectors.

ALEXANDER SMITH, JR. 

